Southern Miss has added a Big 12 QB transfer. Will he see the field early at USM?
Southern Miss has added another name to the quarterback depth chart with former West Virginia QB Trey Lowe landing in Hattiesburg for fall camp.
Lowe is immediately eligible as a graduate transfer, but he will be walking into a QB room that features plenty of experience.
Redshirt senior Jack Abraham has been the starting quarterback for the last two seasons and junior Tate Whatley has seen significant playing time, including three starts as a freshman.
USM head coach Jay Hopson didn’t discount the idea Wednesday that Lowe, who still has three years of eligibility remaining, could see action this season for the Golden Eagles.
“He’s immediately eligible and we’re certainly looking at everybody playing, and Trey is one of those guys,” Hopson said. “Again, that’s what practice is all about. He’s athletic, smart. He’s got a wonderful quarterback demeanor. He’s just catching up for lost time.”
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Lowe took the field in six games last season for the Mountaineers, but four of those came on special teams. He completed the only two passes he threw for a total of 2 yards. He ran 13 times for 12 yards.
USM recruited Lowe out of Bolivar Central High School in Tennessee, but he ended up choosing the Mountaineers over other offers from Illinois, North Carolina, Army, Houston and Memphis.
Before Lowe announced plans to transfer from WVU in February, he was set to battle with five other quarterbacks for playing time in the spring.
Lowe was also a member of the Mountaineers’ baseball team, but only played in a couple of games as an outfielder.
At USM, he could provide a more athletic option at quarterback to work in with Abraham.
“Trey has done a good job,” Hopson said. “He’s just starting to get hold of the scheme. He’s doing a great job and he’s an exceptional talent.”
Lowe played for his father, Woodrow Jr., at Bolivar Central and finished his career there as the program’s all-time leading passer with 5,568 yards and 53 touchdown tosses. He also ran for 25 touchdowns.
As a senior, he completed 108 of 167 passes for 1,819 yards and 16 TDs with four interceptions.
He was rated the No. 20 dual-threat quarterback in the nation by Rivals.com.
T.Q. Newsome changes positions at USM
After former Gulfport High School quarterback T.Q. Newsome made the move to running back when he arrived at USM ahead of the 2019 season, he’ll now be on the defensive side of the ball.
Newsome has switched to linebacker during fall camp and defensive coordinator Tony Pecoraro has been encouraged by what he’s seen out of the 6-foot-1, 215-pound redshirt freshman.
Pecoraro said the position change was helped by the fact that Newsome was starting to put on more weight.
“He’s got great feet,” Pecoraro said. “He’s got a running back’s feet and a linebacker’s body. He’s extremely smart. He was a quarterback in high school and a running back here. He’s got a lot of experience and he knows our schematics.”
This story was originally published August 12, 2020 at 1:09 PM.
